Biography

Janis Lyn Joplin (Port Arthur, January 19, 1943 - Hollywood, October 4, 1970) was an American singer. It became known in the late sixties as lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later for his solo work. His career continued until his death from an overdose at the age of 27 years. The American magazine Rolling Stone puts it at 46th place in the list of the 100 most influential artists of history and the 28th anniversary of the 2008 ranking of the 100 most important singers of all time. Recognized and remembered for the intensity of his performances in 1995 was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2005 was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas January 19, 1943 by Dorothy East, used in college, and Seth Joplin, an engineer at Texaco. The Joplin was the eldest of three brothers, Michael and Laura. Teenager restless, still very young approached the blues. She began singing in the choir citizen and listening artists as Leadbelly, Bessie Smith, Odetta and Big Mama Thornton. While attending the Thomas Jefferson High School his primary interest was the design and only then began to sing blues and folk with some friends, accompanying the autoharp in the clubs of Austin, Beaumont and surrounding area. He graduated in 1960 and enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, but never completed his studies. At that time he lived in a building commonly called "The Ghetto" which was on the 2812 half of Nueces Street. The rent was $ 40 per month. In 1965 he joined the faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Houston / Lamark with a near maximum profit in the exams (99/100). On June 25, 1964, Joplin and future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen recorded some blues standards, where in the background you can hear a typewriter (the wife of Kaukonen was writing, hence the title of the bootleg: The Typewriter Tape ). These sessions were recorded with a tape mono, and included seven tracks: Typewriter Talk, Trouble in Mind, Kansas City Blues, Hesitation Blues, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy and Long Black Train Blues. Other recordings of those early years can be found in the collection Janis, The Early Performances of 1974 and Janis 1993, including tracks What Good Can Drinkin 'Do, Mary Jane and No Reason for Livin'. After that the Joplin returned to Houston to resume his studies, but in 1965 he returned to California, where he performed as a singer in the local Venice and San Francisco. Back in Texas the following year to join a group, country & western, was soon contacted by a music impresario Texan who moved to San Francisco, Chet Helms: the formation of the California Big Brother and the Holding Company was looking for a vocalist, and Helms encouraged to come forward. The Joplin left for California, he made contact with Big Brother and joined the group in San Francisco. She moved to San Francisco, he lived first in North Beach and later Haight-Ashbury, and then established his permanent home in Larkspur in Marin County near the Golden Gate Bridge, in a house which incorporated the natural architecture (trees) to 'architecture space (more precisely: 380 W Baltimore Ave Larkspur, CA 94939). With Big Brother and the Holding Company performed a number of concerts performed in various clubs in California, and June 1967 saw his participation in the Monterey Pop Festival, where he recorded the triumph of the artist who performed with an unforgettable personality version the song Ball and Chain (Big Mama Thornton). In 1968 engraved Cheap Thrills, the second album of the group (between songs a cover of Gershwin's Summertime and Piece of My Heart), a work that Rolling Stone ranks 338th place in the list of the 500 greatest albums of all time and went quickly in the rankings Billboard reaching n. 1 and maintaining this position for eight weeks. In 1969 he began a solo career, and he chose as a group to accompany the Kozmic Blues Band, with whom he released the album I Got Dem Ol 'Kozmic Blues Again Mama! in which it shows its quality performer (Kozmic Blues, Little Girl Blue, Maybe, Work Me, Lord). His research and his musical perfectionism (in the dynamics of improvisation) put her in conflict with the bands with which she performed. Group changed again by selecting the Full Tilt Boogie Band: Pearl album was published posthumously in January 1971 and immediately entered the charts at no. 1 maintaining this position for 9 weeks. The first single from the album was Me and Bobby McGee, which reached number one in the singles chart, followed by other songs like Cry Baby, Get It While You Can, Mercedes Benz, Trust Me and My Baby. Shared openly ideal Peace & Love that characterized the hippie movement: participated with other singers and bands at the Woodstock Festival and the concert in memory of Martin Luther King. The style of the emancipated Joplin was voted the defense of equality between whites and blacks and supported by a particular admiration for the music of his favorite blues singers. For this reason, before his death he bought a more dignified headstone for Bessie Smith, killed in a car accident and not rescued immediately because of the color of his skin. Also in 1969, was stopped after the concert held on November 17 in Tampa, State of Florida, cataloged and reported by the police on charges of disturbing public order and vulgar language and obscene held on the stage, the court then ruled in his Please, as exercised freedom of expression. During a concert in Frankfurt, after being on his arrival in the city, "attacked" by his fans, he invited her to go on stage, then insisted I go up on stage even more viewers to dance and sing with her. She is the protagonist of the song Leonard Cohen's Chelsea Hotel # 2, in which the Canadian singer-songwriter recalls their brief history occurred between the sheets of the legendary hotel. On October 4, 1970 Janis Joplin was found dead in a motel room in Hollywood: the autopsy suggested an accidental death caused by an overdose of heroin. She was found 18 hours after the death of his face lying on the floor, spilling blood, now congealed, from the nose and mouth, the body was wedged between the nightstand and the bed, and it is therefore implied the lack of any reflection tense to avoid the obstacle. The reconstruction of the dynamics of death allowed his manager, Albert Grossman, to collect one hundred thousand U.S. dollars resulting from a life insurance policy, and in subsequent years the manager he worked long and hard about the inheritance in favor of the Joplin family. The artist's body was cremated at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery and his ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.